After the Psalm, the Gospel was read, and the bishop preached. Then the catechumens were dismissed', and the oblations of the faithful were received". Cyprian and Augustine speak of the beginning of the preface, Sursum corda, "Lift up your hearts ";" to which the latter adds the form, "Gratias aga mus Domino Deo nostro°;" and both speak of the thanksgiving or preface, which is also referred to by Tertullian3. The singing of the hymn Tersanctus is alluded to by Tertulliana. All these things perfectly agree with the ancient Roman liturgy. Optatus speaks of a verbal oblation made for the church, which very nearly agrees with that of the Roman church'. Tertullian says that they This is manifest from almost all the sermons of Augustine, which profess to have been delivered immediately after the reading of Scripture. 1 "Post sermonem missa fit catechumenis: manebunt fideles, venietur ad locum orationis." Augustin. Serm. xlix. de Temp. p. 275, tom. v. m"Locuples et dives es, et Dominicum celebrare te credis, quæ corbanam omnino non respicis, quæ in Dominicum sine sacrificio venis, quæ partem de sacrificio quod pauper obtulit sumis." Cypr. de Oper. et Eleemos. p. 203, ed. Fell. c. 13, p. 839, tom. x. 0 Aug. de Don. Persev. c. cit. P Cypr. de Orat. Dom. ut supra. Aug. de Don. Persev. c. cit. Tertullian. lib. i. adv. Marcionem, c. xxiii. p. 377. "Super alienum panem alii Deo gratiarum actionibus fungitur." q "Cur illa angelorum circumstantia non cessant dicere, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. Proinde igitur et nos angelorum, si meminerimus, candidati jam hinc cœlestem illam in Deum vocem, et officium futuræ claritatis ediscimus." Tertull. de Orat. c. iii. p. 130. "Quis dubitet, vos illud legitimum in Sacramentorum mysterio præterire non posse? Offerre vos Deo dicitis pro Ecclesia quæ una est: hoc ipsum mendacii pars est, unam te vocare, de qua feceris duas. offerre vos dicitis pro una ecclesia, quæ sit in toto terrarum orbe diffusa." Optat. contra Et sacrificed or offered for the emperor', which is also consistent with the Roman liturgy. Cyprian speaks of the commemoration of the living. Augustine seems to refer to prayers and an oblation before consecration"; and Optatus and Fulgentius speak of an invocation of the Holy Spirit to perform the sanctification of the elements". This is almost the only point in which any material difference can be pointed out between the Roman and the African liturgies. The former never contained such an in Parmen. lib. ii. p. 45. Paris, 1679. Compare Gregor. Sacr. a Menard. p. 2. S 46 'Itaque et sacrificamus pro salute imperatoris sed Deo nostro et ipsius: sed quomodo præcepit Deus, prece pura." Tertull. ad Scapulam, p. 69, c. 2. Compare Greg. Sacr. p. 2. t "Ad communionem admittuntur, et offertur nomen eorum." Cypr. Epist. xvi. p. 37. et Epist. Ixii. p. 147. Compare Greg. Sacr. Menard. p. 2. Martene, de Antiq. Eccl. Rit. lib.i. c. 4, art. 8, p. 400, &c. "Speaking of the words of the apostle, 1 Tim. ii. 1. "Eligo in his verbis hoc intelligere quod omnis vel fere omnis frequentat Ecclesia, ut precationes (obsecrationes) accipiamus dictas, quas facimus in celebratione Sacramentorum, antequam illud, quod est in Domini mensa, incipiat benedici; orationes cum benedicitur et sanctificatur, et ad distribuendum comminuitur, quam totam petitionem fere omnis Ecclesia Dominica oratione concludit." -This he explains from the scriptural use of the word πроενуý; proceeding thus"si usitatius, ut dixi, in Scripturis votum appellatur εὐχὴ, excepto nomine generali orationis, ea proprie intelligenda oratio quam facimus ad votum, id est πρὸς εὐχήν. Voventur autem omnia quæ offeruntur Deo, maxime sancti altaris oblatio-ideo in hujus sanctificationis præparatione existimo Apostolum jussisse proprie fieri poσEνxàs, id est, orationes,hoc est enim ad votum quod usitatius in Scripturis nuncupatur εὐχή.” Aug. Epist. cxlix. p. 509, tom. ii. Compare Greg. Sacr. Menard. p. 2. "Quid est enim tam sacrilegum, quam altaria Dei (in quibus et vos aliquando obtulistis) frangere, radere, removere? In quibus vota populi et membra Christi portata sunt: quo Deus omnipotens invocatus sit, quo postulatus descendit Spiritus Sanctus," &c. Optat. cont. Parmen. lib. vi. p. 111. See also Fulgent. lib. ii. qu. 2, ad Monimum, and contra Fabian. Excerpta a Sirmondo, p. 36. 39. vocation. But the African church may very well have introduced this form in imitation of the oriental liturgies, in which it had been extant from a most remote period. I have not found any distinct allusion to the words of our Saviour". The verbal commemoration of Christ's passion and death is spoken of by Cyprian and Fulgentius. The commemoration of the departed saints is mentioned by Augustine, Cyprian, and Tertullian; as is also the termination "in sæcula sæculorum," and the response of the people, Amen, by Tertullian2. We also read, in Augustine, of the breaking of the bread or body for distribution, and of a benediction of the people, to which the canons of the African church refer, as an imposition of hands";" and Optatus alludes to the absolution of penitents sometimes given at this time. The Lord's Prayer then followed, and is 66 p. 523, D. z Tertull. de Spectaculis, c. 25, p. 83. a See Epist. cxlix. cited in note ", p. 138. b Interpellationes autem— fiunt cum populus benedicitur. Tunc enim antistites velut advocati susceptos suos per manus impositionem misericordissimæ offerunt potestati." Epist. cxlix. p. 509, tom. ii. Concil. African. A.D. 424, canon lxx. Labbe, tom. ii. p. 1662. Codex Canon. Eccl. Afr. A.D. 390. canon ciii. ib. p. 1117. c "Etenim inter vicina momenta, dum manus imponitis, et delicta donatis, mox ad altare conversi, Dominicam orationem prætermittere non potestis." Optatus, lib. ii. p. 52. spoken of by Augustine, Optatus, and Cypriana. The salutation of peace, "Pax vobis," and the holy kiss, are alluded to by Augustine, Optatus, and Tertullian. Augustine speaks of the anthem sung during communion, and of the thanksgiving, "post communionem "." g This is perhaps almost all we can know about the African liturgy, and, as far as it goes, it agrees perfectly with the ancient Roman, except in the single instance of the invocation of the Holy Spirit, which was probably introduced from the east, or from Gaul and Spain. Some passages from the African Fathers have been cited, which may be imagined to refer to a liturgy different from the Roman. Thus, for instance, Tertullian and other Fathers speak of prayers for the emperor and his court", &c.; Augustine, of prayers for infidels, catechumens, &c. which do not appear in the ancient cited above in note. Cypr. de Orat. Dom. p. 146. e For testimony of Augustine, see last note, and note ©, p. 135. "Et non potuistis prætermittere quod legitimum est. Utique dixistis Pax vobiscumsalutas de pace, qui non amas.” Optat. Milev. lib. iii. p. 79. Tertull. de Orat. cited in note", p. 135. f Retractat. lib. ii. c. 11. g"Quibus peractis, et participato sancto Sacramento, gratiarum actio cuncta concludit." Epist. cxlix. ad Paulin. p. 509, tom. ii. h Tertull. in Apolog. p. 31 A. Arnob. adv. Gentes, lib. iv. sub finem. i August. Epist. ccxvii. ad Vitalem, p. 799, tom. ii. Roman canon. But in fact we have no proof that these prayers were used in the African canon; they may have occupied the place of the Roman collect before the lessons; and even if they did occur in the canon, it would not have constituted any material difference between the Roman and African rites, for we often find that such small additions were made in ancient liturgies, the main substance and order still remaining identical. I am altogether satisfied that the African liturgy agreed in very many points with the primitive Roman, and that no material difference can be shewn between them. If this were the proper place for doing so, and if I did not fear to enlarge this dissertation too much, it would be easy to trace this conformity of the Roman and African rites through the offices of Baptism, Matrimony, &c. and to bring a large body of j Victorinus Afer, lib. i. adversus Arianos, cites the following passage from the African liturgy: "Sicuti et in oblatione dicitur, munda tibi populum circumvitalem, æmulatorem bonorum operum, circa tuam substantiam venientem." Fulgentius, in his remarks on 1 Cor. xi. 23, amongst the Excerpta published by Sirmond. p. 36, says, "Cum tempore sacrificii commemorationem mortis ejus faciamus, charitatem nobis tribui per adventum sancti Spiritus postulamus: hoc suppliciter exorantes, ut per ipsam charitatem, qua pro nobis Christus crucifigi dignatus est, nos quoque gratia sancti Spiritus accepta, mundum crucifixum habere, et mundo crucifigi possimus: imitantesque Domini nostri mortem, sicut Christus quod mortuus est pec- |